Shipping and display packages have previously been attempted including one which has a flat base with four upstanding legs defining a cylindrical recess into which the threads of a plug type electric fuse may be pushed. The frictional engagement between these legs and the fuse retains the plug fuse in place.
A hair roller holder has been proposed which has a stepped cylindrical outer surface. These three steps merely support three different sizes of hollow cylindrical hair rollers. This unit is not intended as a shipping unit but merely as a convenient stand to hold the hair rollers for the user.
Another prior art construction was one wherein glass jars such as baby food jars could be screwed upwardly into a female threaded support on the underside of a shelf. The jars could then be used to store items for the homeowner such as screws and nails.
Another prior art construction was a storage tray for socket wrenches with an upstanding lug which is square in cross section to receive the square drive opening of the socket wrench.
Another prior art construction of a shipping package was to use an end cap at each end of a hollow spool of ribbon with a molded upstanding lug on each end cap which frictionally engaged the hollow end of the spool.
The prior art constructions showed the support of generally lightweight items and generally used frictional engagement between the item and some support structure to temporarily hold the item in place. Such frictional engagement may be satisfactory for lightweight items or for items displayed on a shelf, yet they are not satisfactory for withstanding the rough handling during shipping. Such items would become dislodged from the support. Such dislodgement would not only tend to cause damage to the items as they bumped into each other, but also they may become lost during shipment.